Business
NOTE: The section is a general survey about the types of businesses in Gladstone Park. The photographs are meant to be representative of what exists in the neighborhood and does not pretend to be a comprehensive collection. For specific shops and eateries in Gladstone Park, see highlights and photos of them in Stores & Restaurants.
N. MILWAUKEE AVENUE BUSINESS CORRIDOR
Although there are pockets of service centers and professional offices on N. Elston, N. Central, and N. Northwest Highway, the majority of them can be found on the N. Milwaukee Avenue commercial corridor that beelines through the center of Gladstone Park.
Any Gladstonian wishing to conduct virtually all his or her business needs from cradle to grave can do so in the local community. There are professional offices for lawyers, dentists and orthodontists, psychologists, and doctors of various specialties. Financial services are available at a number of banks and offices headed by tax preparers, accountants, and insurance brokers. Independent local plumbers, electricians, roofers, and other contractors have offices in the neighborhood (if they don’t operate out of their homes). There are also numerous choices when it comes to automotive service centers and car washes, real estate and travel agents, beauty parlors (hair, nail, and spa), sports and fitness centers (including a bowling alley) and computer repair. Two large funeral homes top off the list.
That description might make it seem as if Gladstone Park is your ordinary community…residential areas surrounding a “main” street with an industrial zone on the side. It is not. Business (and industry) is different here. Rather than presenting as an urban or even a suburban landscape, it is something in between. And because of timing and historical quirks, its commercial and manufacturing corridors look nothing like – and function completely differently from – those found elsewhere in the city.
But as odd as Gladstone Park’s business and industrial corridors might seem to those living in more densely-built parts of the city, the result is completely and expressly livable. In fact, its small town atmosphere is one of the main attractions that draws residents to the community. Amplified by plenty of room for parking, there is an ease with which Gladstone Park residents can conduct their business (and indulge in pleasure) that is not found elsewhere in Chicago. The fact that official crime statistics over decades have positioned the community as one of the four safest neighborhoods in the city doesn’t hurt. There just aren’t the same worries. So while there is litter (who can help that in a windy city?), it is unusual, for example, to even see graffiti.
One of the community’s more unusual businesses that must be cited is the broadcast station and daytime transmitter for WCPT 820 AM, Chicago’s Progressive Radio Station, at 5475 N. Milwaukee. Moving into an midcentury building in the Gladstone Park neighborhood in 2016, the station broadcasts to the entire Chicago Metropolitan area during the day at 5,800 watts. It is a point of pride because, after all, what one-square-mile neighborhood has its own radio station? Another distinct building is the two-story midcentury Esquire Motel, 6145 N. Elston overlooking the intersection with N. Milwaukee, its geometric shapes and unique neon signage standing out in 1950s glory.
Less than a mile from Gladstone Park’s southern border is the (Nicolaus) Copernicus Center with its palatial 1,890-seat concert hall. The facility hosts many events dear to the hearts of the Polish community, including the annual Taste of Polonia festival. Among performances are those of the (Ignacy Jan) Paderewski Orchestra. Named after one of Poland’s greatest pianists and composers, PaSo debuted as small chamber ensemble in 1996 before growing into a full orchestra that performs with its own choir and runs an Academy of Music for young musicians. Specializing in early to contemporary Polish pieces, the orchestra has also played world music in many of Chicago’s great concert halls. The Copernicus, located one block east of N Milwaukee at 5216 W. Lawrence preserved a piece of history when it opened in 1981 after being rehabbed out of Jefferson Park’s grand 19th Century Gateway movie house.
It would be remiss not to point out that how the banquet industry has flourished in Gladstone Park due to the abundance of inexpensive land for buildings of the required size. Three banquet halls within a half mile of each other on N. Milwaukee are the Gala, Lido, and Stardust. The Gala and Lido made Yelp’s 2022 list for the top ten most affordable banquet halls in Chicago, and are thus the scenes of many wedding receptions and other celebrations.
The large population of Polish immigrants in the neighborhood is made to feel particularly welcome in Gladstone Park’s business district with a number of professional offices and services centers identified by both their English and Polish names. Many also have Polish speakers inside.
A detailed history of the Gladstone Park commercial district can be found in Stores and Restaurants.
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